Virginie Viard, the Artistic Director of Fashion collections at Chanel, is leaving the luxury fashion brand after five years. She had been with Chanel for almost thirty years and took over as chief designer in 2019 after the passing of Karl Lagerfeld.
Chanel’s Chief Executive Leena Nair has praised Viard for her successful designs and overseeing significant growth in ready-to-wear fashion sales, which have increased two-and-a-half times since 2018. However, it is uncertain who will succeed Viard at Chanel, as the report did not mention any potential replacements.
Despite varying sales results in mainland China among luxury brands, Chanel has plans to expand in that market. The brand is famous for its tweed suits, quilted handbags, and No. 5 perfume and is the second-largest in the world after LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton. Chanel is privately owned by French billionaire brothers Alain Wertheimer and Gerard Wertheimer.
Chanel has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding Virginie Viard’s departure.